Method for conveying concentrated solar power

ABSTRACT

The method is for of conveying a solar power. A parabolic reflector receives sunrays that reflects and concentrates the sunrays as light into second reflector that reflects the light into a tapering device. The tapering device conveys the light to a first curved glass rod section. The first curved glass rod section conveying the light to a second curved glass rod section via a gap defined between the ends of the first and second rod sections. The second rod section conveys the light to a third rod section via a second gap. The first rod section is rotated relative to the second rod section and the second rod section is rotated relative to the third rod section so that the parabolic reflector follows a path of the sun.

PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part patent application that claims priorityfrom U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/349,774, filed 11 Nov. 2016,that claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/394,880 filed 15 Sep. 2016.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a method for conveying concentrated solarpower.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Solar power or solar energy has been used for many decades for heatingdwellings and water and for generating electricity. Because solar poweris a renewable energy source much effort has been made to developsystems to use such energy. The costs have been high and the storage ofenergy has not been very effective. A significant problem is the needfor effectively positioning solar concentrators relative to the sun asthe sun moves during the day. The best thick plastic-fibers available inthe market have been studied but none of these provided the requiredlevel of optical transmission in the near-infrared (NIR) and a largefraction of the incident energy is lost in the waveguides after only afew meters propagation. The efficiencies of conventional systems havebeen low and there is a need for a more efficient and cost effectivesystem.

The method of the present invention provides a solution to theabove-outlined problems. More particularly, the method is for ofconveying a solar power. A parabolic reflector receives sunrays thatreflects and concentrates the sunrays as light into a second reflectorthat reflects the light into a tapering device. The tapering deviceconveys the light to a first curved glass rod section. The first curvedglass rod section conveys the light to a second curved glass rod sectionvia a gap defined between the ends of the first and second rod sections.The second rod section conveys the light to a third rod section via asecond gap. The first rod section is rotated relative to the second rodsection and the second rod section is rotated relative to the third rodsection so that the parabolic reflector follows a path of the sun.

In another embodiment, the third glass rod section extends into a solidstorage unit.

In another embodiment, the rays are conveyed and reflected inside thetapering device.

In yet another embodiment, the third glass rod section conveys and emitsthe light into an inside of the storage unit wherein the light convertsinto heat upon impact with the storage unit to heat the storage unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic front view of a solar power system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1Bb is a schematic side view of the solar power system shown inFIG. 1 along line A;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a portion of the solar power system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2B is a detailed perspective view of the gaps formed between theloop sections of the present invention;

FIG. 2C is a detailed perspective view of one of the gaps of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the solar power system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3A is a front elevational view of the taper device;

FIG. 3B is a detailed view of the loop sections and the gaptherebetween;

FIG. 3C is a detailed view of vertical loop sections and the gaptherebetween;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the passage of the solar raysthrough the solar concentrator;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the tapering unit connected to theglass rod;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the tapering unit connected to thecurved glass rod;

FIG. 7 is a graphic illustration of the correlation between reflectionangle and size of focal segment;

FIG. 8 is an elevational side view of a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is an elevational side view of a third embodiment of the presentinvention:

FIG. 10 is an elevational side view of a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is an elevational side of a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention that is adjusted for early morning sun;

FIG. 12 is an elevational side of the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 11 that is adjusted for mid-morning ormid-afternoon sun; and

FIG. 13 is an elevational side of the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 11 that is adjusted for the sun being in zenith.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1a-1b are schematic overviews of the solar power system 100 of thepresent invention. As described in detail below, one important featureof the present invention is that the solar concentrator 102 is rotatablein two directions so that it is not necessary to use light transmittingfiber optic materials that are bendable as the panel 111 (best seen inFIG. 3) moves with the path of the sun 105. The system 100 hasconical-shaped or tapered solar concentrators 102 that concentrate beamsor rays 107 received from the sun 105 and convey the light beams 107 toa tapering or taper device 200 that is in communication with andconnected to a glass rod 104 (best seen in FIG. 4). The glass rod 104may be made of a suitable silica or doped glass material. The glass rod104 could be flexible but with the current technology, it is onlypossible to make flexible cables that are 1.5 mm or smaller and when thecable is bent too much the light cannot propagate in the cable withoutlosses. The glass rod 104 should preferably be greater than 1.5 mm andmore preferably about 6 mm in diameter and the glass rod 104 can bestiff, as explained in detail below, due to a periscope mechanism thatenables the glass rod section to be moved relative to one another. Itshould be understood that the present invention is not limited to 6 mmglass rod and that larger glass rods such as 6-60 mm diameter glass rodsmay also be used. One function of the solar concentrator 102 is toconcentrate the rays 107′ to a focus segment 150. The tapering device200 then further concentrates the rays 107″ further to the diameter ofthe glass rod 104 so that less glass or silica can be used in glass rod104. When the concentrator 102 and tapering device 200 are correctlydimensioned, the amount of glass/silica used in the glass rod 104 can bereduced with up to 90%. The upper surface 204 of the tapering device 200could be positioned at the focus segment 150 but in the preferredembodiment the upper surface 204 is placed above the focus segment 150and made wider than the length (K) of the focus segment to accommodatefor inaccuracies in the construction of the solar concentrator 102 andits lens 160. The conical shape of the tapering device 200 is unique toaccomplish a total internal reflection of the light inside the taperingdevice 200 and so that the light can propagate inside the taperingdevice 200 without substantial loss of light through the side walls 218,220 of the tapering device 200. Preferably, the upper surface 204 of thetapering device 200 is treated with an anti-reflective substance tominimize losses of light.

It is to be understood that many solar concentrators 102 may be used ina panel 111, as shown in FIG. 2a . The solar concentrator 102 has asuitable lens 160, such as Fresnel lenses or a solar guiding system, toconcentrate the sunrays 107 to the focal line or focal segment 150. Thefocal segment 150 may be treated as a mirror image of the width of thesun 105 as seen at the focal segment 150. There is an error of about0.5° at the outer edges of the focal segment 150 due to the dimension ofthe sun. In one preferred embodiment, when the lens 160 of concentrator102 is about one square meter at the upper end thereof then the focalsegment 150, after the concentration of the sun rays by the lens, has adiameter of about 20 millimeters. It should be noted that when the widthand the length of the solar concentrator 102 are the same, the focalsegment 150 is shortest i.e. about 18 mm when the width and length ofthe solar concentrator 102 are about 1 meter. However, as explainedbelow, although it is desirable to make the focal segment 150 as shortas possible to minimize the amount of glass needed in the glass rod 104,it has surprisingly been realized that the focal segment should belarger than the minimum 18 mm. This is accomplished by designing thesolar concentrator 102 with a length (l) that is longer than its width(w) at the upper end of the solar concentrator 102 wherein the lens 160is located.

The glass rod 104 may be made of doped glass or another suitable fiberoptic material that includes a carbon pattern that can handle all thevisible wave-lengths of the sun light or sun rays received by theconcentrator 102. Infrared and other invisible wavelengths could also beused. In general, the visible wave-lengths have the most energy and arethe most desirable to convey. In this way, it is possible to effectivelytransport the sun rays or light of different wave-lengths via the glassrod 104. The glass rod 104 may be non-bendable and carries the light ata range of visible (and non-visible) wave-lengths. Instead of using theglass rod 104, it is also possible to use solid glass in the fibersalthough the energy losses are greater, the range of wave-lengths thatcan be carried is more limited and it may be necessary to use relativelythick glass rods which are difficult or impossible to bend withoutbreaking the rods. Preferably, high purity silica should be used in theglass rod 104. However, as indicated above, large diameter silica is notflexible. It was discovered that a two-axis rotation of the solarconcentrator 102 makes it possible to track the azimuth and elevation ofthe sun 105 in the sky to optimize the energy captured by the solarconcentrators 102. The glass rod 104 may include a plurality of glassrods connected to solar concentrators 102 that are tightly packet suchas up to 36 glass rods that are placed in a framework 103 of a panel111. The coupling of light from up to 36 rods into a glass periscope isaccomplished by leading each rod into a hub 152 (best seen in FIG. 2a ).The bundling of the plurality of rods 109 is best shown in FIGS. 2a-2c .The rods could be attached to the panel with Fresnel lenses and becauseof the elevation of the sun, the entire panel with the rods should beable to face the horizon at sunrise and sunset and zenith for lowlatitudes.

By using a solar concentrator 102 in combination with the taperingdevice 200, the number of glass rods included in glass rod 104 could bereduced to one or a few rods. The lens 160 of the solar concentrator 102enables the rays 107 to be concentrated to the focal segment 150.

An important feature of the present invention is that the glass rod 104has a periscope section that includes a curved loop segment 106 that isdivided into a first curved glass loop section 108 a and a second curvedglass loop section 108 b. The first loop section 108 a has an upper end110 in operative engagement with or connected to a tapering device 200that is preferably disposed in the concentrator 102 at a bottom 112thereof. More preferably, the tapering device 200 is located at or neara focal point of the lens 160 that does not necessarily have to be atthe bottom of the concentrator 102. The section 108 a has a lower end114 terminates at an end surface 116. The end surface 116 is alignedwith but separated by a first gap 118 from an upper end surface 120 ofthe second loop section 108 b. The end surfaces 116 and 120 arepreferably treated with an anti-reflective substance to minimize lossesof light. The loop section 108 b has a lower end 122 that terminates atan end surface 124. The loop sections 108 a and 108 b together form asomewhat U-shaped loop segment 106. The end surface 124 is aligned withbut separated by a second gap 126 from an upper end surface 128 of astraight glass rod section 130 that is directly or indirectly connectedto a high-temperature storage system or unit 132 and preferably extendsinto an inside of the storage unit 132. It is of course possible not touse a storage unit 132 and to lead the light into another substance suchas water. The end surfaces 116, 120; and 124, 128 are preferably treatedwith anti-reflective layers to minimize losses of light. Preferably, theend surfaces 116, 120; and 124, 128 should be so close to one another,such as less than 1 mm, that even sunbeams that have been reflected bythe end surfaces can be transmitted or propagated across the gap fromone section to another section. It is preferable that the end surfacesof each loop section remain parallel as the concentrator 102 is movedi.e. the gaps 118 and 126 should not change in shape as the concentrator102 is moved.

The storage unit 132 may have a sapphire window 133, that lets the lightcarried in the glass rod 130 through, where the glass rod section 130enters the storage unit 132 to reduce heat losses so that the glass rodsection 130 terminates just above the sapphire glass 133 (see FIG. 3)that could handle temperatures in the range of 1800° C. The storage unit132 may also include a rotatable lock that can be rotated to follow thesun during the day. The storage system may include a suitable hightemperature resistant material such as MgO that can handle 1000° C.while maintaining mechanical integrity. The glass rod section 130 may behelically shaped or have any other form inside the storage unit 132.

The rotation at the second gap 126 enables the concentrator 102 toaccompany the sun's azimuth during the day i.e. to follow the sun 105 asthe sun moves during the day. The rotation at the first gap 118 enablesthe concentrator to accompany elevational changes of the sun 105 duringthe day. It is also possible to leave out the second gap 126 and toinstead rotate the solar concentrator 102 relative to the section 108 a.It may also be possible to rotate section 130 relative to the storageunit 132.

In this way, the glass rod 104 and glass rod section 130 carry theconveyed light energy collected in the concentrator 102 to the inside ofthe storage unit 132. The concentrator 102 can, in this way, be directedtowards the sun and follow the path of the sun without using bendableglass rods. This in turn means larger diameter glass rods that are notbendable may be used. In the storage unit 132, the light is converted toheat upon impact with the material inside the storage unit 132. Thestorage unit 132 may be made of any suitable material such as concrete,sand or any other material that is suitable for storing heat in a rangeof 300-1000° C. Preferably, the temperatures are higher than 300° C. inorder to make electricity.

Because there is the first gap 118 between the first loop section 108 aand the second loop section 108 b, the first loop section 108 a isrotatable relative to the second loop section 108 b. In this way, theconcentrator 102 may be moved from an upright position to a slopingposition (pointing towards the viewer), as shown in FIG. 1a . Similarly,because there is a second gap 126 between the second loop section 108 band glass rod section 130, the second loop section 108 b is rotatablerelative to glass rod section 130 so that the concentrator 102 may, forexample, be turned sideways, as best shown in FIG. 1b . This enables themovement of the concentrator 102 without bending any of the loopsections of glass rod 104. In this way, the concentrator 102 can bemoved and adjusted to the location of the sun relative to the earth. Itis to be understood that the concentrator 102 is also supported by aframe to prevent it from falling to the ground. FIGS. 2a and 2b showdetailed views of the loop sections 108 a and 108 b and the gaps 118,126 defined therebetween. The ability to rotate section 108 a relativeto section 108 b is illustrated by the round arrow A1 in FIG. 2b andFIG. 2c . The ability to rotate section 108 b relative to section 130 isillustrated by round arrow A2 in FIG. 2 b.

FIG. 3 is a forward elevational view of the system 100 wherein section108 a is attached to bottom 112 that is located below focal segment orfocus line 150. FIG. 3A is a front elevational view of the taper device200. FIG. 3B is a detailed view of the loop sections 108 a, 108 b andthe gap 118 therebetween. FIG. 3C is a detailed view of loop sections108 b and 130 and the gap 126 therebetween.

FIGS. 1a-1b show cross-sectional side views of the storage unit 132. Theglass rod section 130 can be connected to relatively long spiral-formedglass-rods 154 disposed inside the storage unit 132. It is also possibleto direct the light directly from the solar concentrator 102 via the airto the ends of the glass-rods that extend out of the storage unit 132.One drawback of the latter design is that the solar concentrator 102should be relatively close to the storage unit and that the storage unit132 must be unobstructed and visible from the solar concentrator.Another option is to use the solar power to heat gas that, in turn, iscirculated into the storage unit 132 to heat the glass rods disposed inthe unit.

The hot glass-rods convert the light energy, carried in the fiber glassrod 104 and section 130, to heat the storage unit 132. Moreparticularly, as the rods 154 emit light inside the storage unit 132 thelight energy is converted into heat. When the rods are substantiallystraight the light is reflected on the inside walls of the glass rod andno or very little light is emitted. However, when the glass rod issufficiently bent or curved then light escapes from the glass rod. Inother words, the light energy is mostly emitted where the rods are bentand this light energy is converted into heat inside the storage unit132. The spiral shape of the rods 154 increases the contact surface areaagainst the storage unit 132 to improve the transfer of heat from theglass-rods 154 to the storage unit 132. At the end of the rods 154 verylittle light energy remains so the end does not create much heat. Asmentioned above, it is also possible to transfer the light energy fromthe solar concentrator 102 directly to the storage 132 by directlydirecting or reflecting the light energy to the glass-rods 154 that aresticking out of the storage unit 132. In this way, the glass rods 154are heated. A straight rod, shaped like a cone, also works but makes itmore difficult to accomplish an even energy distribution in the storageunit. It is important to realize that, in the present invention, thelight is not converted to heat until it impacts the storage unit whichmeans the glass rod is not heated by the solar energy. The conversion toheat does not occur until the light impacts the material inside storageunit 132. Also, it is important to realize that, in the presentinvention, the solar energy is not used to directly heat a flow of amedium such as gas. Instead, the light is, preferably, first convertedto heat inside the storage unit to heat the storage unit (i.e. not a gasflow) that, in turn, may be used to heat gas 156 or any other mediumthat flows outside the storage unit 132.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the solar concentrator 102 connected tothe glass rod 104 and shows how the solar beams 107 pass through thelens 160 disposed at the top of the solar concentrator 102 and into atapering unit 200 disposed at the bottom of the solar concentrator 102.The concentrator 102 has a width (w) and a length (l). In general, ithas been believed that the length (l) should be as short as possiblerelative to the width (w) to shorten the length of the focus line orsegment 150 and to minimize the size of the concentrator 102. However,it was surprisingly discovered that the length (l) of the concentrator102 should be greater than the width (w) although the length (K) of thefocus segment 150 becomes longer and the size of the concentratorincreases and it makes it more difficult to hold the concentrator 102 inplace in a frame. The modification of using a length that is longer thanthe width thus makes the focus segment longer. For example, the widthmay be about 1 meter and the length about 1.3 meters. As seen in FIG. 4,the lens 160 changes the direction of the sun beam 107 as it passesthrough the lens 160 and is directed towards tapering unit 200 disposedat the bottom of the solar concentrator 102. Preferably, the angle (B)should be less than 30° or more preferably about 20-22° by increasingthe length (l) of the solar concentrator 102 from length (w) to length(l), as shown in FIG. 4. The tapering unit 200 is then disposed at thebottom of concentrator 102 to further concentrate the sunbeams 107′, asexplained in detail below. After the sunbeams 107 have passed lens 160they are marked as 107′ in the figures. Surprisingly, the length of thefocus line 150 only increased from about 18 mm to about 20 mm when thelength (l) was made 30% longer relative to the width (w). The taperingunit 200 then reduces the focus line from 20 mm to about 6 mm at thebottom surface 206. Although it would be enough to use tapering unit 200with a width of 20 mm, it is preferable to use a tapering unit 200 thathas a width of about 40 mm at the top surface 204 to accommodate for anymisalignment of the top surface 204 and the lens 160. One preferredfeature is that the tapering unit 200 is congruent with the downwardlydirected and truncated triangular or conical shape of the solarconcentrator 102 so that the sides 218, 220 of the tapering device 200are parallel with the sidewalls 113, 115 of the solar concentrator 102.The use of the lens 160 in combination with the tapering device 200reduces the amount glass needed in the glass rod 104 with about 90%. Onedrawback of the lengthened solar concentrator 102 is that the reflectionangles inside the glass rod 104 increase.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the tapering unit 200 (disposed insidesolar concentrator 102) connected to glass rod 104. As mentioned above,unit 200 has, preferably, the same shape as concentrator 102 i.e. thelength is longer than the width and has a conical or triangular shapewith a truncated bottom surface that is connected to the glass rod 104.The unit 200 is preferably solid and made of silica or doped glass. Thetapering unit 200 has the top surface 204 and the bottom surface 206.Preferably, the top surface 204 is treated with a suitableanti-reflection substance to reduce undesirable reflections of thesunbeams. The length of the top surface 204 is designed to be a bitlonger than what is theoretically necessary in case the lens 160 and thetapering device 200 are not perfectly aligned. When perfectly aligned,the top surface 204 would only have to have a width that corresponds tothe width of the focal segment 150 that in turn is dependent upon thelens 160 and the shape of the solar concentrator 102. The unit 200 has atheoretical focal position 208 on focal segment 150 had the sun beam107′ continued to travel in the air inside solar concentrator 102 (asindicated by the dashed line 107′) without passing into the unit 200.The top surface 204 of the unit 200 causes the sun beam 107′ to changethe direction as shown by sunbeam 107″ similar to when light passesthrough a lens. The beam 107″ inside unit 200 bounces or is reflectedoff side walls 218, 220 of unit 200.

An important feature is that the reflection angle beta (β) must be 30°or less otherwise the beam 107″ cannot properly enter glass rod 104without bouncing back and forth at the inlet without going into glassrod 104. The glass rod 104 is currently 6 mm in diameter and if angle βis 30° or slightly greater then glass rod 104 must be 10 mm or greaterto prevent loss of the beam inside the glass rod 104. This isdisadvantageous because it means more glass must be used in glass rod104 which makes it more expensive and extremely difficult to bend.Another important advantage of using an angle β that is less than 30°,more preferably about 22°, is that then the angle μ is not greater thanabout 40-41° because the angle μ must be less than the total internalreflection angle of the material of glass rod 104 i.e. so that the lightcan propagate in the glass rod without loss. This is important becausewhen angle μ is greater than total internal reflection angle i.e. about40-41°, the sun beam 107″ passes through the outer wall 216 of glass rod104. By making the focal segment 150 longer than necessary, thereflection angles β inside the tapering device 200 are reduced that inturn reduces the reflection angles μ inside the glass rod 104. It isalso important that the reflection angles inside the tapering device 200are less than the total internal reflection angle (usually about 40-41°)to prevent the sun beam 107′ from escaping through the sidewalls 218,220 of the tapering device 200.

The surprising and unexpected effect of increasing the focus line orarea 150 from 18 mm to 20 mm (by making the concentrator 102 elongatei.e. to have a length that is longer than its width) was thus that itwas then possible to reduce the diameter of the glass rod 104 whilemaintaining the reflection angle to be less than the total internalreflection angle. Any angle greater than the total reflection anglemeans that light no longer can propagate within the tapering device 200and glass rod 104 without escaping through the walls of the taperingdevice 200 and/or the glass rod 104.

As best shown in FIG. 6, because the angle β is relatively large, orslightly above 40°, the radius of segment 108 a must have a largerbending radius, compared to using a thicker glass rod 104 with a greaterdiameter, in order to reduce losses and to prevent the reflection anglefrom exceeding the total internal reflection angle in the glass rod 104.The bending radius of section 108 could be about 100 mm.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the width or length of the focussegment 150 and the reflection angle β. The focus segment is theshortest when the reflection angle is 30° i.e. when the length (l) ofthe solar concentrator 102 is the same as the width (w). It wassurprisingly discovered that by increasing the length (l) relative tothe width (w) of the solar concentrator 102, the reflection anglesinside the tapering device 200 where reduced to such an extent that thatthe reflection angles within the glass rod 104 also stayed within orbelow the total reflection angles of the glass rod 104. By using alength (l) of the solar concentrator 102 that is shorter than the width(w), the reflection angles increase to a value greater than 30° and thelight passes through the walls of the tapering unit 200 and the glassrod 104 so that no or very little light can propagate therethrough.

FIG. 8 is an elevational side view of a second embodiment of the solarpower system 240 of the present invention. One advantage of system 240is that it is relatively simple and that the light or sun rays areconcentrated into the taper device without having to use lenses andextra mirrors. The words “light” and “sunrays” are used interchangeablyherein. The system 240 has a parabolic reflector such as a mirror 242that has a curved inside 244 that receives the sun rays 246 and reflectsand concentrates the rays 248 directly back into a conical-shaped solidhomogenous taper device 250 (without being reflected by an additionalmirror or passing a lens) that is connected to a curved glass rodsection 252 that terminates at a first gap 254 at a first elevationrotation point at an end 256. A curved glass rod section 258 has one end260 at the gap 254 and another end 262 at a second gap 264. A rodsection 266 has an end 268 at the second gap 264 and an opposite endterminating in a suitable place. The details of the various glass rodsections and gaps therebetween are virtually identical to the glass rodsections and gaps described in FIGS. 2A-2C. The taper device 250 isidentical to the taper device 200 as described in detail above. The gapsmust be such that light can be conveyed from one glass rod to anothervia the gap with minimum losses. Preferably, the rod section 266 extendsinto a storage unit 270 such as a solid concrete unit. The rod section266 is adapted to convey and emit the light into an inside of thestorage unit 270 wherein the light converts into heat upon impact withthe storage unit 270 to heat the storage unit 270.

FIG. 9 is an elevational side view of a third embodiment of the solarpower system 400 of the present invention. One advantage of system 400compared to system 240 is that the second straight reflector/mirrorcould in some cases further concentrates the sun rays before they enterinto the taper device. Another advantage is that the second mirrorlowers the mechanical load on the tracking system, which makes trackingeasier and cheaper. The second mirror also reduces the amount of glassneeded. More particularly, the system 400 has a parabolic reflector suchas a mirror 402 that has a curved concave inside 404 that receives thesun rays 406 and reflects the rays 408 back to into a straight verticalreflector or mirror 410 at an angle so that the mirror 402 concentratesthe rays 408 to the mirror 410 and mirror 410 further concentrates theincoming rays 408 to rays 415 and reflects them into a taper device 412(that is also identical to taper device 200). The end surface 413 of thetaper device 412, that receives the concentrated rays 415 from themirror 410, is smaller than a reflection area of the reflector or mirror417. One end 414 of a glass rod 416 is connected to taper device 412 (asdescribed above regarding the taper devices of the earlier embodiments).The glass rod 416 extends through a central segment or opening 428 ofthe parabolic mirror 402. The glass rod 416 has a curved section 418that terminates at an end 420 at a gap 422 that functions as anelevation rotation point similar to the gaps described above. A secondcurved glass rod 424 has an end 426 terminating at the gap 422 so thatlight is and may be conveyed from the glass rod 416 to the glass rod 424via the gap 422. A glass rod section 426 has an end 428 terminating at agap 429 defined between an end 430 of glass rod 424 and the end 428 ofglass rod 426. The rod section 426 extends into a storage unit 432 suchas a solid concrete unit. The rod section 426 is adapted to convey andemit the light into an inside of the storage unit 432 wherein the lightconverts into heat upon impact with the storage unit 432 to heat thestorage unit 432. As described above, the glass rod sections arerotatably relative to one another at the gaps so that the system 400 canfollow the path of the sun.

FIG. 10 shows the system 500 that has a parabolic reflector such as amirror 502 with a concave inside 504 that receives and reflects thesunrays 506 to a convex outside 507 of another parabolic reflector 508such as a parabolic or curved mirror. In other words, mirror 502reflects the sunrays to secondary mirror 508. This mirror 508 can beconvex, concave or flat. The mirror 508 can have a shape of paraboloid,ellipsoid or another suitable shape. This also applies to the convexparabolic mirrors shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13. A convex shape ispreferred but other shapes are also possible to use. One advantage ofusing system 500 compared to system 100 (shown in FIGS. 1A-1B) is thatthe combination of the parabolic mirrors 502 and 508 furtherconcentrates the incoming sunrays with a factor of up to 25. The curvedoutside 507 of the parabolic mirror 508 is, preferably, placed at ornear a focal point of the parabolic mirror 502. The parabolic mirror 502has a center section 510 that, preferably, has a lens 511 disposedtherein. The mirrors 502 and 508 are, preferably, placed relative to oneanother so that the sun rays that are reflected by the mirror 502 intothe mirror 508 and back to the mirror 502 through the lens 511 (such asa Fresnel lens) as parallel beams 512. One advantage of making the beamsparallel is that it is possible to use lens 511 to further concentratethe sun rays before they hit the taper device 516 (also identical totaper device 200), as described in more detail below. The parallel beams512 penetrate the lens 511 and into a solar concentrator 514 that issubstantially similar to the solar concentrator 102 shown in FIGS. 1A-1Band the description thereof applies to solar concentrator 514 also.Solar concentrator 514 is therefore not described in detail here. Theconcentrator 514 has a taper device 516 at the bottom thereof (or at thefocal point of the lens 511) that is identical to tapering device 200shown in FIGS. 1A-1B so it is not described in detail here. The taperdevice 516 is connected to an end of a glass rod 518.

FIG. 11 shows the system 300 that has a parabolic reflector such as amirror 302 with a concave inside 304 that receives and reflects thesunrays 306 to a convex outside 307 of another parabolic reflector suchas a mirror 308. As described in detail below, one important advantageof system 300 is that it only requires one rotation point or gap in theglass rod system that is connected to the tapering device because theextra mirror is instead connected to a rotation point that moves themirror 314 and the parabolic mirror 302 in the vertical direction toadjust to the changes of the vertical position of the sun as it movesfrom sunrise to sunset (as described in detail below).

The curved outside 307 of the parabolic mirror 308 is preferably placedat or near a focal point of the parabolic mirror 302. The mirror 308 mayalso be in front or behind the focal point depending on the type ofsecondary mirror that is used. The parabolic mirror 302 has a centersection 310 that is either transparent or open. The mirrors 302 and 308are placed relative to one another so that sun rays, that are reflectedby the mirror 302 into the mirror 308 and back to the mirror 302 andthrough the center section 310, are parallel beams 312. The parallelbeams 312 penetrate the center section 310 and into an angular straightreflector such as a mirror 314 that is placed at an angle (m) relativeto a vertical line to reflect the beams 312 into a lens 316 that furtherconcentrates the beams 312 into a conical taper device 318 (identical totaper device 200) placed at an end a glass rod 320, as explained indetail above. The mirror 314 is connected to a rotation mechanism atrotation point 328 to vertically adjust the relative movement of themirror 314 and the parabolic mirrors 302 and 308. The taper device 318is preferably the same as the taper devices described above so that allthe features of taper device 200 also apply to taper device 318. It isalso possible to direct the beams 312 concentrated by lens 316 directlyinto an end of the glass rod 320 without first passing through the taperdevice 318. Preferably, the glass rod 320 is connected to the taperdevice 318 at an angle that is greater than 90 degrees but smaller than180 degrees, such as at about 135 degrees or so. There is a rotationalgap 322 at a first elevational rotation point below the angle section324 so that the components of system 300 above the rotational gap 322may rotate relative to the glass rod 326 to adjust sideways to theazimuth movement of the sun. The gap 322 is preferably identical to thegaps 118, 126 and other gaps described above.

FIG. 12 shows the system 300 being adjusted to sun rays 306 are at anangle (n) relative to a horizontal plane (HP) that is about 45 degrees.It should be noted that when angle (n) has changed from about 0 degreesin FIG. 11 to 45 degrees in FIG. 12, the angle (m) has only changed fromabout 22.5 degrees in FIG. 11 to 0 degrees in FIG. 12. In other words,angle (m) changes at about half the rate of angle (n) when mirror 314 isrotated about a second elevational rotational point 328 to adjust forthe changing angle of the sun (i.e. morning, mid-day, afternoon sun)relative to the horizontal plane (HP) of the sun rays 306 coming in fromthe sun.

FIG. 13 shows the system 300 adjusted to the position when the sun is inthe zenith position i.e. when angle (n) is 90 degrees. This means angle(m) has changed from 0 degrees to −22.5 degrees compared to the positionshown in FIG. 12. In other words, the angle (n) has changed from +22.5degrees to −22.5 degrees as measured from the morning (FIG. 11) to whenthe sun is in zenith (FIG. 13). One important feature of the system 300is that only one rotation point or gap 322 is needed in the glass rod320 because the vertical changes of the sun during the day is adjustedto at the rotational point 328. This makes it possible to make glass rod326 very short which is advantageous because glass rods are generallyvery expensive. The glass rod 326 can, therefore, be connected into astorage unit 330 without requiring any additional rotational points inaddition to the rotational point at gap 322.

While the present invention has been described in accordance withpreferred compositions and embodiments, it is to be understood thatcertain substitutions and alterations may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of conveying a solar power, comprising: providinga parabolic reflector, the parabolic reflector receiving sunrays andreflecting and concentrating the sunrays as light to a second reflector;the second reflector reflecting the light to a tapering device; thetapering device having a solid and cone-shaped body and being made of atransparent material, the tapering device having a bottom in operativeengagement with a first curved glass rod section; the tapering devicereceiving the light reflected and concentrated by the parabolicreflector; a second curved glass rod section aligned with the firstcurved glass rod section, the first curved rod section and the secondcurved glass rod section having a first gap defined therebetween; athird glass rod section aligned with the second curved glass rodsection, the second curved glass rod section and the third glass rodsection having a second gap defined therebetween; the tapering devicebeing in communication with an upper end of the first curved glass rodsection, the first curved glass rod section conveying the light to thesecond curved glass rod section via and across the first gap, the secondcurved glass rod section conveying the light to the third glass rodsection via and across the second gap, rotating the first curved glassrod section relative to the second curved glass rod section at the firstgap; and rotating the second curved glass rod section relative to thethird glass rod section at the second gap so that the parabolicreflector is adjustable to follow a path of a sun.
 2. The solar powersystem according to claim 1 wherein the third glass rod section extendsinto a solid storage unit.
 3. The solar power system according to claim1 wherein rays are conveyed and reflected inside the tapering device. 4.The solar power system according to claim 2 wherein the third glass rodsection conveys and emits the light into an inside of the storage unitwherein the light converts into heat upon impact with the storage unitto heat the storage unit.
 5. The solar power system according to claim 1wherein the first curved glass rod section extends through the parabolicreflector.
 6. The solar power system according to claim 1 wherein theparabolic reflector has a central opening defined therein and the firstcurved glass rod section extends through the central opening.